Combined safety razor and hair trimmer



Oct. 18, 1955 c. SABIERS COMBINED SAFETY RAZOR AND HAIR TRIMMER 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 12, 1953 FIG. 4

FIG. 5

ATTORNEY) Oct. 18, 1955 c. SABIERS COMBINED SAFETY RAZOR AND HAIRTRIMMER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 7

Filed Oct. 12, 1953 FIG.6

I so FIG. IO :4

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IN VENT OR Charles Sabiers BY 44 M,

ATTORNEY) United States Patent COMBINED SAFETY RAZOR AND HAIR TRllVIMERCharles Sabiers, Amherst, Ohio Application October 12, 1953, Serial No.385,415

8 Claims. (CI. 30-31) This invention relates to combined safety razorsand hair trimmers and the device disclosed herein is an improvement overthe safety razor of my United States Patent No. 2,059,172, dated October27, 1936.

An important object of the invention is to provide a combined safetyrazor and hair trimmer in which the head portion thereof, like the headof my razor referred to above, is free floating, but may be latched intoa nonfree-fioating position for the purpose of using the device as ahair trimmer and the conversion is accomplished without removing theblade but simply by shifting a part of the head portion and shifting alatch member from one position to another position.

Another important object is to provide a device as described havingmeans selectively to secure the bladecarrying head portion thereofagainst rotation with respect to the handle or to permit rotation of thehead portion with respect to the handle portion.

A further important object is to provide a head portion which, with asingle double-edged razor, may be employed in shaving or hair trimmingoperations.

Additionally, an important object is to provide a head portion for asafety razor which may be employed in shaving or hair trimming andincludes means to trap hair cut off in trimming.

Another important object is to provide safety features in connectionwith the use of the device for shaving and for hair trimming.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following detailed description of the invention, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a portion of thisdisclosure and in which drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the combined safety razor and hair trimmerwith the parts in positions for hair trimming.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the combined safety razor and hairtrimmer, with the parts positioned as in Fi 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section, substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2but on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the latch means of thenew device in position so that the head portion may rotate with respectto the handle portion.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section substantially on the line 5-5of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a head plate assembly on the new device,consisting of two plate portions slidably secured together by bent-overretaining lugs.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the inner portion of the plate assembly ofFig. 6 but with the lugs of Fig. 6 unbent.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of the outer portion of the plateassembly of Fig. 6 and showing a coupling lug for connection with ahandle portion.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of an example of a double-edged blade which may beemployed with the new device.

2,720,695 Patented Oct. 18, 1955 Fig. 10 is a top plan view of a headplate employed in association with the head plate assembly of Fig. 6 andthe blade of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the head portion of the new device,comprising the head plate assembly of Fig. 6, blade of Fig. 9 and headplate of Fig. 10 in positions for shaving.

Fig. 12 is a top plan view somewhat along the lines of Fig. 11 but withthe parts in positions for hair trimmmg.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a handle portion forcoupling to the lug of Fig. 8.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of the invention and wherein similar referencecharacters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,the razor is designated as A and a blade as B.

The razor A includes a hollow handle portion 15 having a preferablytubular wall 16 defining a compartment, being knurled over a portion ofits outer face and closed at its free end portion 17 by a suitableclosure 18 preferably with a press fit. The closure 18 has a reducedinner end portion 19, within the handle compartment, for a purpose laterdetailed. The opposite end portion 20 of the handle has a smooth outerface and terminates in an outwardly-extending annular head or shallowflange 21.

Mounted at the end portion 20 is a neck 22 which comprises anoutwardly-extending generally cylindrical neck portion 23 and aninwardly-extending cylindrical neck portion 24 of a diameter less thanthat of the portion 23 whereby a shoulder is provided which will bedescribed in connection with the latch means 49. It will be noted thatthere is a part of the portion 23 which is normally within the wall 16.A part of the outer face of the portion 23 may be knurled and theoutermost end part of this portion is provided with an axiallyextendingscrew-threaded socket 25.

The neck 22 is rotatably and reciprocably mounted upon the handleportion 15 by means of a helical retraction spring 26 which is suitablysecured, at one end, to the innermost portion 24 and suitably secured,at its other end, to the reduced inner end portion 19 in a substantialyretracted condition.

Carried by the neck 22 is the head portion 27 con- .sisting of a headplate 28 and a head plate assembly 29, with a blade B adapted to beclamped between them.

The head plate 28 is curved in transverse section and difiers fromconventional safety razor guard plates in that the two spaced-apartopenings 30 for the accommodation of the anchoring pins or lugs 38 ofthe head plate assembly 29 are not disposed with their axessubstantially upon the longitudinal medial line of the plate 28 but toone side of this line. For example, in a plate wide, these axes may besubstantially from the longitudinal edge 31 of the plate 28 and /2" fromthe opposite longitudinal edge 32. Of course the center opening 33,spaced an equal distance from the axes of the openings 30, is also toone side of this longitudinal medial line.

Means 34 carried by the plate 28 to receive hair cut in trimmingcomprises the walls of preferably a plurality of elongated slots 35 inthe plate 28 extending longitudinally of the plate between the edge 32and openings 30 and 33.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 6, the head plate assembly 29 is best shown andcomprises the portions 36 and 37. The outer portion 36 is preferably atransversely curved plate provided with a pair of spaced-apart anchoringpins or lugs 38 and a central screw-threaded lug 39. The pins 38 are ofa size and disposed so that they may enter the open: ings 30 and the lug39 disposed so that it may enterthe the inner head plate portion 37.These openings 40 and 41 are not round but are oval so that the portions36 and 37 may slide transversely when the pins 38 are within theopenings 40. One side edge 42 of the portion 37 is substantiallystraight and has no indentations, recesses, teeth or the like, while theopposite side edge is provided with a plurality of comb teeth 43.

7 and a central opening 41 withtheir longitudinal axes normal to thelongitudinal axis of '4 hair trimming operations, but that a headportion be permitted torotate in shaving,

in my patent referred to above, this means 49 includes the walls of ashort longitudinally extending slot 50 in the 7 wall 16 of the handleportion extending to and through the flange 21. The means 49 alsoincludes a member 51 which engages the outer face of the neck portion 23in a good frictional engagement. This member is preferably a split ringhaving good resiliency or springy characteristics and, while engagingthe outer face of the neck portion 23 as described, it is possible tomanually reciprocate the member 51 fromits position in Figs. 1 and 2 toits position in Figs. 4 and 5. Projecting inwardly radially from theedge of the body of the member 51 nearest the neck portion 23 is a rigidtongue or lug 52 which extends through the slot 50 and thus the member51 is retained against any independent rotation. At the juncture of theportions 23 and 24 is an annular shoulder 53 which the In order toprovide means for retaining the portions 36 I and 37 for relativetransverse sliding, the portion 37 has .a plurality of spaced-apart lugs44 at its ends which are adapted to be bent over, the sides and outerface of the fingerhold lug 45, which extends outwardly from the body ofthe portion 37 It will be noted, particularly in Fig. 6, that theportion 36 is much narrower than the associated portion 37 and,

. portion 36. Intermediate the lugs 44 on each end, is a as may be seenin Figs. 1 and 2, a rounded longitudinal edge portion 46 of the portion36 substantially merges into the outer face of the portion 37 while theopposite edge portion 47, which is abrupt (substantially bevelled),meets the outer face of the portion 37 to provide a welldefined cornerat the juncture, which I have discovered is particularly desirable whenthe device is employed in hair trimming.

With the construction heretofore disclosed, it is now apparent that theinner head portion 37 may be shifted transversely of the rest of thehead plate assembly 29 and, when the two-edge blade B (shown in Fig. 9and of conventional shape, having the spaced apart lug or pinreceivingopenings and screw threaded lug-receiving center opening 56) is disposedbetween the head plate 28 and inner portion 37 of the head plateassembly 29, the portion 37 may be shifted transversely (by pressing thetips of the thumb and index finger against the outer edges of the lugs-44 and applying'pressure transverseto the longitudinal axis of the headassembly) into the position shown in Fig. 11 so that the razor may beused for shaving, since one edge 57 of the blade B is closely adjacentthe free ends of the comb teeth 43, the rounded edge portion 46isinwardly of this edge of the blade and the sharp edge 58 of the bladeis concealed. Without removing the blade B from the head portion 29 orthe latter from the handle portion 15, the parts may be positioned forhair trimming simply by unscrewing the lug 39 slightly so that the outerportion 36 may be shifted to the position shown in Fig. 12 and thentightening the lug 39. Now, the edge 58 of the blade B is exposed in ahair-trimming position with reference to the edge 32, i

edge 42 and edge portion 47, while the edge 57 is so far inwardly of thefree ends of the comb teeth 43 that it cannot accidently cut thescalp'or hand of the trimmer. Fig. 12 illustrates how the portion 37 hascleared the edge 58 of the blade B, with an edge portion of the blade insight. This permits much of this edge portion to be spaced slightlyfromthe facing edge portion of the plate portion 28 beneath it. But it willalso be noted in Fig. 12 that the elongated slots 35. (of the means 34to trap hair trimmed off by the edge 58) are closely adjacent the edge58 so that such hair will find its way between the blade B and theportion 28 and into the slots 35.

Referring now to means 49 to latch the neck 22 and head portion 27against rotation relative to the handle portion 15, since it isdesirable that the head portion 27 remain fixed with respect to thehandle portion .5 d ring lug 52 is adaptedto contact as in Fig. 5 whenthe member 51 is farthest removed from the neck portion 23. In

this position of the parts, theneck 22' and head portion slightly belowthe horizontal plane of the shoulder 53.

Carried by that part of the neck portion 23 which is normally within thehandle wall 16,- is a longitudinallyextending groove 54, open at itsends, and of a depth and width to accommodate the free end portion ofthe lug 52, as in Figs. 2 and 3. This free vend portion may enter thegroove 54 by manually rotating the head portion 27 while holding thehandle portion 15 immovable until the groove 54 aligns with this freeend and, finally, forcing the member 51 toward the head portion 27 sothat this free end portion of thelug 52 enters the groove. The parts arenow latched together. ber51 along the slot 50 toward the free end 17 ofthe handle portion 15 until'the lug 52 contacts the end wall of the slot50, the free end portion of the lug 52 will leave the groove 54 and takeits position as in Fig. 5, since the spring 26 will cause the headportion 27 and neck 22 to rotate until the groove 54 moves away from thelug 52 and the parts are again in the positions as in Figs. 4 and 5. a

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the new combination device maybe readily manipulated to employ 'itas a safety razor, a portion of thehead disposed in one position and the head movable with respect ,to thehandle portion so that the latter will follow facial contours, or thesame portion of the headmanipulated to render the device suitable forhair trimming and the head either rendered immovable with or movablewith respect to the handle portion as is desired. -'Furthermore, theedge 58 of the razor blade B is concealed when the device is used forshaving and, thus, the shaver will not be cutrif he happens to contacthis face with the wrong edge of the device. On the other hand, when thedevice is used as a hair trimmer, the edge 57 is well removed, as isclear in 7 12, from the comb ends, so it cannot injure in the event thetrimmer uses'the wrong. edge of the device.

While the edge portion 46 is conventional the opposite edge portion 47of the 'outer portion 36 is not. This bevelled edge portion 47 has beenfound to prevent the hair frombeing pressed against the scalp and thusdefeat attempts to trim it successfully.

What is claimed is:

' 1. A combined safety razor and hair trimmer employing a'double-edgedsafety razor blade, said combined safety razor and hair trimmercomprising an elongated as brought out in detail Upon forcing the mem- Ito releasably latch said head against rotation upon said handle portionincluding an end portion of said wall of said handle portion, providedwith a longitudinally-extending slot, a portion of said neck having agroove with one end thereof opening to said shoulder, said groove beingnormally out of alignment with said slot, said neck being rotatable toalign said groove with said slot, and a reciprocable member having arigid portion reciprocable to one position with said rigid portionwithin said compartment and against said shoulder and reciprocable toanother position with said rigid portion out of contact with saidshoulder and being within said groove and slot when said groove and slotare in alignment, whereby said rigid portion is positioned against saidshoulder in shaving and positioned within said groove and slot when hairtrimming.

2. A combined safety razor and hair trimmer according to claim 1characterized in that said reciprocable member is a split ring infrictional contact with a portion of the outer face of said wall of saidhandle portion.

3. A combined safety razor and hair trimmer according to claim 1characterized in that said reciprocable member is a split ring ofresilient material in frictional contact with a portion of the outerface of said wall of said handle portion.

4. A combined safety razor and hair trimmer according to claim 1characterized in that said reciprocable member is a split ring ofresilient material in frictional contact with a portion of the outerface of said wall of said handle portion and said rigid portion extendsfrom the side edge of said split ring disposed nearest said head.

5. A combined safety razor and hair trimmer employing a double-edgedsafety razor blade, said combined safety razor and hair trimmercomprising an elongated handle portion having an outer wall defining acompartment, a shaving and trimming head, a double-edged safety razorblade carried by said head, means rotatably securing said head to saidhandle portion including a neck between said head and handle portion andprovided with a shoulder within said handle portion, and a retrac tionhelical spring under tension Within said compartment, said spring beingsecured at one end thereof to said neck and secured at the other endthereof to said handle portion, and means to releasably latch said headagainst rotation upon said handle portion including an end portion ofsaid wall of said handle portion, provided with alongitudinally-extending slot, 2. portion of said neck having a groovewith one end thereof opening to said shoulder, said groove beingnormally out of alignment with said slot, said neck being rotatable toalign said groove with said slot, and a reciprocable member having arigid portion reciprocable to one position with said rigid portionwithin said compartment and against said shoulder and reciprocable toanother position with said rigid portion out of contact with saidshoulder and being within said groove and slot when said groove and slotare in alignment, whereby said rigid portion is positioned against saidshoulder in shaving and positioned within said groove and slot when hairtrimming.

6. A combined safety razor and hair trimmer employing a double-edgedsafety razor blade, said combined safety razor and hair trimmercomprising a handle portion, a head mounted upon the handle portion,said head comprising a head plate and a head plate assembly, adouble-edged safety razor blade between said head plate and head plateassembly, said head plate assembly including an outer plate portionhaving opposite longitudinal edges, securing means removably securingsaid outer plate portion to said head plate against movement, one withrespect to the other, including lugs carried by said outer plateportion, said head plate being provided with openings to receive saidlugs, with the centers of said openings being offset from thelongitudinal medial line of said head plate, and an inner plate portionhaving opposite longitudinal edges and being slidable transversely ofsaid outer plate portion, said inner plate portion also having elongatedopenings having their longitudinal axes normal to the longitudinal axisof said inner plate portion, and means slidably securing said innerplate portion to said outer plate portion so that said inner plateportion may be manually slid to selectively position one of itslongitudinal edges closely adjacent one of the edges of said head plateand of said blade, for shaving and to cover the other edge of saidblade, and to selectively position the other of said longitudinal edgesof said inner plate portion spaced well away from the other of saidlongitudinal edges of said head plate and the other edge of said blade,with the first-named edge of said blade well inwardly of the first-namededge of said inner plate portion.

7. A combined safety razor and hair trimmer according to claim 6characterized in that said opposite longitudinal edges of said innerplate portion are a pair and said elongated openings have theirlongitudinal axes normal to said pair of opposite longitudinal edges ofsaid inner plate portion.

8. A combined safety razor and hair trimmer according to claim 5characterized in that said neck includes an inwardly-extending neckportion spaced from said handle portion and extending from saidshoulder, and the firstnamed end of said spring is secured to said neckportion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,013,805 Ocumpaugh Ian. 2, 1912 1,486,418 Clardy Mar. 11, 19241,555,961 Gillette Oct. 6, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS 924,355 France Mar. 3,1947

